The festival frenzy finally caught up with us. We enrolled A in language and culture class this year. So, the first weekend this month she came all abuzz with stories of Diwali that her teacher told her. She had a zillion questions, which I had to google to provide the answers! And the excitement caught on. We accepted a flurry of Diwali get-together invitations fr
om friends just so A could get a feel of the festival this time. One of the invitations we went to came from her culture class teacher. For this pooja gathering, we had to bring a Diwali crafts activity, some Diyas and a traditional Diwali dish from our part of India. So, A and I sat together and made this simple rangoli with crafts sand. I drew it for her and she glued the sand down. A bit tacky, but not bad for the first attempt by a 7 yr old, huh! I was going to send this to the Kids delight Event, but am too late now. Wish I could have done this post a day earlier...sigh! Anyhow, we had the rangoli and diya, and then I had to think of a dish to take to the potluck. And as always, I was running late at work. The quickest dish I could think of was Kheer. In our household, makhane (lotus seeds) are thought to bring prosperity and are key ingredients in the kheer made during Diwali. So that's what I made.
Makhane 2 fistfuls
Rice 1 katori
Half 'n half 1 pint
Milk 1/2 liter
Sugar 1 1/2 katori, or to taste
Cashews, slivered almonds and raisins to garnish
A few strands of saffron
Green Cardamom 2
fresh crushed Chironjee 2 tbsp
ghee 3tbsp
Enjoy! And Happy Diwali!
Linking this to MMK-Indian Mithai Mela @ Kalyani's
om friends just so A could get a feel of the festival this time. One of the invitations we went to came from her culture class teacher. For this pooja gathering, we had to bring a Diwali crafts activity, some Diyas and a traditional Diwali dish from our part of India. So, A and I sat together and made this simple rangoli with crafts sand. I drew it for her and she glued the sand down. A bit tacky, but not bad for the first attempt by a 7 yr old, huh! I was going to send this to the Kids delight Event, but am too late now. Wish I could have done this post a day earlier...sigh! Anyhow, we had the rangoli and diya, and then I had to think of a dish to take to the potluck. And as always, I was running late at work. The quickest dish I could think of was Kheer. In our household, makhane (lotus seeds) are thought to bring prosperity and are key ingredients in the kheer made during Diwali. So that's what I made.
Makhane aur Chawal ki Kheer
Makhane 2 fistfuls
Rice 1 katori
Half 'n half 1 pint
Milk 1/2 liter
Sugar 1 1/2 katori, or to taste
Cashews, slivered almonds and raisins to garnish
A few strands of saffron
Green Cardamom 2
fresh crushed Chironjee 2 tbsp
ghee 3tbsp
- Soak the saffron in about 1 tbsp milk. Wash and soak the raisins in water.
- Wash and soak the rice while you are working on the next step!
- Warm 1 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottomed pan and roast the makhane over low flame. They should turn slightly brownish, but not burn.
- Add the washed rice and milk and cook till the rice is done. Usually takes about 20-30 min. You can also pressure cook to 1 whistle.
- Add the half 'n half and sugar and simmer over low heat for another 10 min.
- In another pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee, and fry the cashews. Add these to kheer while it is simmering. Also drain and add the raisins.
- In the last 5 min, add the soaked saffron strands and almonds.
- Finally fry the chironjee seeds in 1 tbsp ghee and mix these with the kheer just before serving. You can 1-2 drops of rose water or kewra in the serving dishes.
Linking this to MMK-Indian Mithai Mela @ Kalyani's
